Both Parties Celebrate Incumbent Wins

Rep. Poulos addresses Democrats at Anthony Jack's Tuesday night; Republicans gather at Smoke & Muddle AVERY MARTIN PHOTOS

Southington voters are sending Chris Poulos and Rebecca Martinez back to Hartford to represent the 81st and 22nd districts, in a victory for town Democrats, while Republican incumbents Gale Mastrofrancesco, Donna Veach and Rob Sampson also held onto their positions, bucking nationwide trends that favored Democrats.

Both sides found reasons to celebrate on Tuesday night. Poulos, the incumbent Democrat, defeated his opponent, Republican Tim Wilk, 6,351 to 4,655. Martinez won with 5,398 votes, while her challenger Richard Mette had 4,336.

In the 80th district, Cheryl Hilton lost to incumbent Gale Mastrofrancesco, 4,115 to 6,282 votes. In the 30th, incumbent Republican Donna Veach bested Linda Pierce 5,495 to 5,065.

The state senate district that includes Southington, the 16th, went to Republican incumbent Rob Sampson in a tight race against Jack Perry. The final tally in that race came in at 20,458 for Sampson to 19,952 for Perry.

Sampson, Wilk, and town Republicans gathered at Smoke & Muddle Tuesday night, while Democrats assembled down the street at Anthony Jack’s to await results. The race was called for Poulos around 10 pm, when results obtained by both parties showed him defeating Wilk.

The mood among Republicans was upbeat, despite their loss in the gubernatorial race early in the night, as attendees watched results come in for Veach, Mastrofranceso and Sampson.

“Looking more broadly, the people spoke and for those who don’t like the results of the election, stand up and get involved,” said town council chairman Paul Chaplinsky.

The crowd at Anthony Jack’s, which was filled out by more than a dozen members of the high school’s Young Democrats club, turned jubilant when Poulos arrived to thank his family and supporters for helping him secure the victory.

“This campaign is about the people,” Poulos said in his victory speech on Tuesday night.

“It's not about the party. It's been about the 8,107 doors I knocked, what they tell me they want and what I will continue to fight for. I will never, never back down from that mandate of the people of Southington, and I will continue to fight for people who want a fair shot in society, not a free shot, a fair shot, a shot at raising a family, a shot at having a good job, a shot at sending your kids to college and not going into debt, a shot at retiring with dignity. This is what my campaign is about.”

Wilk later conceded to Poulos and wished his opponent well.

“This has been quite a journey and a real growth experience. What I’ll remember most are the conversations and the people who invited me into their homes. It’s been validating to know that 30 years of hard work and sacrifice for this community didn’t go unnoticed,” read a statement from Wilk on social media.

Southington’s Democratic Party officials were encouraged by the results of the race. It is a testimony, they said, to just how hard Poulos worked to get re-elected to his third term, with the 1,696 vote winning margin a sign that a ‘blue wave’ can reach even the most conservative districts in the state.  

“Chris Poulos has won overwhelmingly. What it says to Southington Democrats: we are moving forward, and we're going to win next year,” said Poulos’ campaign manager John Barry. “And we're going to have people like Jack Perry and Chris Poulos behind us to help us win.”

'No' Wins School Referendum Question, All Incumbents Reelected

PHILIP THIBODEAU PHOTO

The official numbers will come out later today. However, unofficial counts made by the parties in town would seem to show two main results from Tuesday's election: a win for 'No' on the school referendum question, and the reelection of all the incumbents in the state delegation: Sampson, Poulos, Mastrofrancesco, Martinez, and Veach.

Sources in both parties estimate that 'No' beat 'Yes' on the referendum question by around 1,000 votes. That would mean the school system and the town will have to go back to the drawing board to decide how to deal with the aging facilities at Flanders, Kelley, and Derynoski.

Jack Perry appears to have fallen a few hundred votes short in his effort to unseat incumbent State Senator Rob Sampson. Sampson has claimed victory while Perry is still waiting for confirmation of the final numbers.

In the case of the four State House districts that cover Southington, voters seem to have returned the incumbents to office, with Rep. Chris Poulos fending off a challenge from Tim Wilk, Rep. Gale Mastrofranceso winning her race against Cheryl Hilton, Rep. Rebecca Martinez emerging victorious over Rich Mette, and Linda Pierce coming up short on her challenge of Rep. Donna Veach.

The Southington Town Clerk's office is expected to have official numbers for all of yesterday's votes around midday today. The Southington Outsider will bring you those results early this afternoon.

If you are wondering how the parties can know the election results before the Town Clerk's office has released its official tallies, the answer is this: when the vote ends, and election workers pull the results from the various voting machines, representatives from the parties are allowed to look at the numbers. The parties then collate these results, which include both early and day-of voting, to get a sense of the final counts. The only vote tallies they do not have access to are for provisional and absentees ballots; however these tallies are typically too small to affect the final result, unless a contest is especially tight.

Election Day: Some Answers to Common, Practical Questions

PHILIP THIBODEAU PHOTO

As a service to our readers who are registered to vote in Southington this election, we have compiled a short list of resources designed to address some basic questions about the voting process in town.

When can I vote?

Polls in Connecticut open at 6am Eastern Standard Time and will remain open until 8pm.

Where do I go to vote?

The easiest way to find out your voting location is to use this tool at the CT Secretary of the State’s website.

This voting district map may also be useful:

What will my ballot look like?

It depends on which State Assembly District you reside in.

If you are in the 81st District - where the contest is Poulos vs. Wilk - it should look like this:

In the 80th District (Mastrofrancesco vs. Hilton), it should look like this:

In the 22nd District (Martinez vs. Mette), it should look like this:

And in the 30th District (Veach vs. Pierce), it should look like this:

If you have any further questions about your registration or the voting process, please contact the poll workers at your voting location for definitive answers.